Dick,
 
I will venture my undocumented opinion on how dates should be handled.  I think that there is not always one principle that will hold exclusively in a particular case.  Which principle is to be followed depends on the meaning and style desired.  
 
I suspect that the first principle is intended to hold when the date is by itself, as might occur in the heading of correspondence or in a title.  It seems that in context one of the other principles would take precidence.  In other words, each principle probably ought to be given the priority opposite their order.
 
The second principle is the one most likely to hold in the context of a sentence.  The third principle may hold instead.  The two interpretations of the context are commonly called nonrestrictive and restrictive, respectively.  My inclination is to add the term non-restrictive to the second principle, but this could be problematic.  In case 2 the larger context must suggest that it is clear which Monday is being referred to, i.e., the one nearest in the future.  In case 3 the suggestion is that there are several Mondays under consideration and that the one with the day of year indicated is the one intended.  These principles can interfere.  Consider the following:
 
2'.  Note that whereas Monday, July 24 is a state holiday, Monday, July 3 is a class day.
 
Here the dates are clearly restrictive and the extra commas do not seem right.
 
True to form I will also respond to questions not asked.  A similar contrast can be found with personal names.  However, when names appear with certain titles and when we have names of places with multiple jurisdictional distinguishers, there seem always to be commas (restrictive). 
 
A.  I gave it to my brother Phil yesterday. (restrictive; I have more than one brother)
B.  I gave it to my brother, Phil, yesterday. (non-restrictive; I have but one brother)
 
I feel that this last usage may be a little strained, since it is hard to imagine a larger context that makes it clear both that you have only one brother and that it is important to know his name. 
 
C.  My friend Phil was not there so I gave it to my brother Phil yesterday. (Even if you have just one brother, the commas that would make it non-restrictive interfere with the restrictive sense given it by the other person named Phil.  [Fortunately there does not seem to be a principle analogous to the first principle for dates.])
 
D.  Martin Luther King, Jr., gave a famous speech.
E.  Dr. Phil, Ph. D., has a TV show.
F.  John Quincy Adams was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, in the 18th Century.
 
These words even when taken as restrictive are punctuated with commas.  (If it were not for principle number 1, these principles might be applied to dates.)
 
Bruce
 
----- Original Message -----
From: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">Veit, Richard
To: [log in to unmask] href="mailto:[log in to unmask]">[log in to unmask]
Sent: Saturday, June 17, 2006 10:05 AM
Subject: Punctuating dates

Here’s a question that arose as I was preparing a syllabus for a summer class. I seek the benefit of your wisdom and expertise.

 

Which is the accepted and usual punctuation?

 

  1. Note that Monday, July 3 is a class day.
    [Pertinent principle: When a date is made up of two or more parts, use a comma to separate the parts when the parts are both words or are both numbers. Here “Monday” and “July” are adjacent words in a date.]
  2. Note that Monday, July 3, is a class day.
    [Pertinent principle: A date with an internal comma is also concluded with a comma except when it ends the sentence.]
  3. Note that Monday July 3 is a class day.
    [Pertinent principle: Restrictive appositives are not set off by commas. Here “July 3” is a restrictive appositive modifying “Monday.”]

 

Dick Veit

 

________________________

 

Richard Veit

Department of English, UNCW 

 

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